


Under the Stars

by DownToTheSea



Category: Timeless (TV 2016)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-17
Updated: 2018-06-17
Packaged: 2019-05-24 15:19:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,437
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14957102
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DownToTheSea/pseuds/DownToTheSea
Summary: The Time Team is stranded in the mountains during a mission, and Lucy and Flynn discover a silver lining to being stuck in the past.





	Under the Stars

**Author's Note:**

> For the Tumblr prompt - "Garcy stargazing."

The slopes of the Rocky Mountains were probably never the warmest place to be, but there was something about the knowledge that the nearest town was a lot farther away than a short car ride that made it seem even colder. For once, Lucy was glad of the cumbersome layers of the clothing she’d stolen. (She would have been even more glad of the central heating back home, but a well-placed bullet in the lifeboat’s console had put that on hold. At least, Lucy hoped it was just on hold.)

The Rittenhouse agent who had pulled it off had paid the price – an equally well-placed bullet in his head from Flynn's gun – but he'd managed plenty of damage beforehand. He had stranded them here, which would have been enough of an achievement on its own without adding to it. But his first shot had been at Lucy.

She glanced down at the bandages wrapped around her shoulder, wincing. Flynn had nearly bowled Wyatt and Rufus over going for the first aid kit they kept in the lifeboat before returning to where Lucy was leaning against its side, blood dripping through her fingers where she clutched the wound.

“It's ok,” he had told her, kneeling down and gently prying her hand away. He'd locked eyes with her, reassuring her, and Lucy nodded. “It’s ok.”

Lucy hadn’t been sure whether that second one was for her benefit or his, but it was still nice to hear. Then again, maybe it was just nice to hear his voice, low and measured and soothing, and she managed a small smile.

When she caught a glance at his face, though, he’d looked the opposite of composed. Fear lingered around the edges of his expression, visible to Lucy now that she knew where to look for it, and she thought she saw his hand tremble slightly for just a moment before he got it back under control.

But then, by the time he had finished dressing her shoulder and sat back against the lifeboat next to her, she wasn’t doing much better. On impulse, inhibitions somewhat lowered by pain and shock, she had reached over and grabbed his hand.

A stunned expression had flitted across his face, but then he squeezed lightly and held on. They steadied each other, Lucy weaving her fingers through Flynn's long warm ones, neither of them saying a word.

They stayed like that a while, but Flynn eventually rose to his feet, looking regretfully down at their joined hands. “Someone should check the area,” he’d murmured, jerking his head towards the dead Rittenhouse agent. “In case he decided to bring friends.”

“'Hey guys, having a great party in 1845, bring your own beer,'” Lucy had joked. It was a bit weak, but Flynn smiled, before disentangling their fingers and striding off.

Lucy had let her head fall back against the lifeboat. “Be careful,” she’d said, even though he was long gone.

Time had slipped slowly by, the sun fading beyond the horizon and taking the remaining heat with it. Now darkness had settled over the landscape and the temperature was dropping by the minute, a bitter chill in the air, and Lucy began to worry about what they would do if they couldn’t get the lifeboat up and running soon. And about Flynn, who had been gone way longer than she expected. She only hoped he was being exceptionally thorough, and swallowed the lump of fear that rose in her throat.

Behind her, Rufus and Wyatt were talking in the lifeboat. It mostly consisted of Rufus pouring out tech talk at an impressive and increasingly worried rate and Wyatt attempting to calm him down.

“One problem at a time,” he was reminding Rufus.

“Right,” Rufus said, swallowing. “Ok, ok, maybe if I reroute the emergency power I can jump start the – ” He climbed out of the lifeboat mid-speech, his eyes widening when he looked at Lucy.

“Hey, are you ok?’ he asked. “I thought Flynn said it was just a graze. Where is he, anyway?”

Lucy gave him a tired smile. “It is, I'm fine. And he went to make sure no one else is gonna take pot shots at us.”

Rufus nodded, but hovered there, still looking worried.

“Go on,” she said, laughing and waving her hand. “Really, he’s a surprisingly good doctor. Just don’t tell him I said so. I think the lifeboat is in worse shape than I am at the moment.”

Rufus gave another quick nod and an answering smile, then ducked over to the other side and started fiddling with a panel. “I'll make it fast,” he promised.

There wasn’t anything she could do here except add more unnecessary pressure to Rufus to get the ship fixed, and she probably needed to start moving around to stay warm, so Lucy got up and walked away from the lifeboat. Besides, she wanted to make sure Flynn was ok: short and injured historian she might be, but two was still better than one if he needed help.

She headed down the slope, breathing in the chilly air and keeping her eyes and ears open for any sign of him. Stopping just before she went down far enough to lose sight of the lifeboat, she glanced to the woods on either side of her.

“Where are you, Flynn?” she muttered, pivoting for a moment before picking a direction at random.

But before she made it under the cover of the branches, soft footsteps sounded from just beyond her. Flynn appeared a few seconds later. “Lucy? What are you doing out here?”

“Looking for you.” Lucy attempted to glare at him, although it was so dark that she wasn’t sure it was having much effect. “You’ve been gone for hours. I thought… maybe you’d gotten mauled by a bear or something,” she finished lamely.

She thought his lips might have twitched at that, but mostly he looked like he was still processing the fact that she’d been worried about him and wasn’t sure whether to be smug or shocked at the information. He was leaning towards smug when she hurried on.

“Anyone out there?”

“Not anymore.”

Lucy's eyes widened. Despite her uneasiness earlier, she hadn't really been expecting another agent, not when there had already been more than usual. Now that Emma was in charge of Rittenhouse, she must have been throwing more resources at stopping them. And now, with them stuck here with a malfunctioning lifeboat, she was free to go screw up whichever part of history she wanted. Lucy sank down on a nearby rock.

“I didn't hear any shots,” she said, giving Flynn a concerned once over.

“There weren’t any,” he said succinctly.

She should have been shaken at the thought that he'd been out there fighting for their lives in total silence, and if he'd lost she would never have known until it was too late, but… It was such a  _ Flynn  _ way of saying it, and even if it made her sigh and roll her eyes, she couldn’t help but dart a glance of fond relief at him as he lowered himself onto the rock next to her.

The wind picked up, piercing through her layers. She shivered, and the motion made her shoulder give a twinge. Flynn had done what he could, but it still hurt like hell.

He noticed, of course. It was becoming more and more difficult to hide anything from him, and the weirdest part was that Lucy didn't really mind.

He shifted a little closer, though still maintaining a bubble of distance. “Is there, uh, anything I can get you?” he asked.

She looked at him out of the corner of her eye. “We're stranded on a mountain in 1845, Flynn. What would you do if I said I wanted a – a can of Pringles or something?”

The corner of his mouth quirked upwards. “What flavor?”

Lucy laughed. His eyes were soft, a ridiculously satisfied look on his face.

“You've already gone above and beyond,” she told him, and meant it. Not just on this mission, but in the complete chaos that had been the last few months, Flynn had somehow become one of the steadiest things in her life.

Even now, stuck in the past on a freezing mountain with a dead time ship and a chunk blown out of her shoulder, all he had to do was sit next to her like he was now, and Lucy felt absurdly comforted.

Flynn's smile widened, and if it hadn't been so difficult to see him in the darkness, Lucy might have almost thought he turned a little red. She looked away, up at the sky.

“You know, camping is  _ really  _ not my thing, but I kinda see the appeal now. Apart from the whole ‘we might freeze to death’ part, that is.”

Flynn chuckled, then followed her gesture up with his eyes. The one silver lining to their total isolation: no modern cities meant that the stars were clearer and brighter than Lucy had ever seen them, blazing fiercely in the wide cold sky, like someone had dusted the entire world with diamonds and opals. If she tilted her head over, she could see the snowy peaks of the mountains parading off beyond them, glowing almost luminescent in the starlight.

“It's beautiful,” she said quietly.

“Yes,” Flynn said, and Lucy pretended not to notice the slight ragged edge to his voice.

Looking up at the tableau of distant beauty was a sharp reminder that she and Flynn and Rittenhouse were only the tiniest specks in a very vast universe. Which was sort of a hopeful thought, that maybe Rittenhouse really wouldn’t destroy everything and it would all be ok someday, but it also left her feeling rather small and lonely.

Not looking at him, Lucy scooted even closer until their sides were pressed together, muffling a sigh.  _ Ahh, much better _ . And as an added bonus, Flynn was so  _ warm.  _ Unfairly warm, in Lucy’s opinion, for someone who’d spent just as long in the freezing wilderness as she had. But she wasn’t about to complain, and just tucked herself a little deeper into his side.

He had moved his arm to accommodate her, but only rested his hand on the rock behind them once she was settled. Lucy firmly squashed the small flare of disappointment and turned her face upwards again.

“It's a shame they're not like this at home,” she said after a while. It didn’t seem nearly so lonely now, with Flynn so close, and she could devote all her attention to appreciating the picture spread out before them.

He had gone rather silent in the last few minutes and Lucy hoped she hadn’t made things awkward by curling up to him like this, but he hummed his agreement in a soft, contented way that put her at ease.

An unmistakable whirring and droning sounded just then from behind them, followed immediately by a loud whoop from Rufus and Wyatt. The lifeboat was back on. Lucy grinned and stood, turning to look back at Flynn. “Coming?” she asked.

“In a second,” he said, giving her a smile. “Go on, I'll catch up.”

Slightly confused, Lucy shrugged and walked off. True to his word, he caught up with her only a short time later, tucking something away in his coat and lifting her up to the lifeboat to go home.

 

A couple of days after they got back, the alarm sounded to inform them the mothership had been taken out again. Since Lucy was still on doctor-ordered leave, Flynn had to fill in as historian, and Jiya went along in her place.

Lucy stood by the lifeboat while they got ready to leave, watching them unhappily. Of course it made sense for her to stay behind, but still, she hated the thought of leaving her team even for a short while, and that history might change and she'd never remember.

Flynn came over to her as the others were heading up the stairs. “Don't have too much fun without us,” he said with a wink, then went on in a lower voice before she could answer. “I, uh, left something for you in my room.”

There was a loud but not unfriendly call from Wyatt to get his ass into the lifeboat before Rufus took off without him, and Lucy could only nod and hurriedly wish him well before he climbed in and disappeared.

Her curiosity was piqued, so as soon as Connor announced that they had landed safely in 1699, Lucy went down the hall to Flynn's room and pushed the door open.

It was immediately clear what Flynn had been talking about. For a long moment, Lucy just stared at his desk, and then leaned against the door and laughed and then laughed some more, all the tension draining out of her shoulders for a blissful moment.

She crossed to the desk, picking up the bright red can of Pringles he'd left there for her and snorting, and then saw a note tucked underneath.

_ You never told me a flavor. Maltese Falcon tonight? _

_ P. S. You might want to check your texts. _

Lucy shook her head, but there was a smile playing on her lips, and she folded the note up and tucked it into her pocket. Then she pulled her phone out and looked at her texts. She hardly ever checked them anymore; most of the people she was in regular contact with were right here, plus it was hard to get in the habit when most of her time was spent in eras where cell towers weren't really a thing.

Her eyes widened. He'd sent her a photo, a wide shot of the brilliant stars they'd been watching last night. A cell phone photograph couldn't possibly do it justice, of course, but it was enough of an echo to recall the full scene to her memory.

He'd taken his iPhone to 1845? Seriously? It was beyond reckless; if anyone got ahold of it, there was no telling the damage that could be done.

Still… There was something about it that made Lucy's heart seem to wobble a little, deep in her chest, and she fumbled to find the words why. It was kind of magical that he had captured and preserved that two hundred year-old sky, just for her.

She could argue about good time travel practices with him later (and in fact intended to do so at her earliest convenience); but for now, she gripped her phone and hoped that wherever he was, he was safe, and she would see him soon.

**Author's Note:**

> (As someone who's tried to take photos of the night sky on their cell phone, I figure Flynn totally got Jiya to install a fancy app on his phone just so he could do this for Lucy at some point.)


End file.
